Just the Girl I'm Looking For
by SRN713
Summary: She always pushed him around whenever the chance arose. She told him he should have never existed, and laughed at his misery and clumsiness. Which comes to the next question: How was it possible for someone like Hanatarō Yamada to fall in love with her? [HanatarōOC; One Shot]


Hanatarō Yamada quietly lied on his bed staring up at the ceiling, hands folded on his stomach as his mind wandered. It was the middle of the night - probably eleven o'clock or so - but he was unable to fall asleep. His chest ached quite painfully that night, and it bothered him greatly hence why he was unable to close his eyes and get some rest like he should have. It had been like that all day long, and at points it disrupted him from his own work. It made him twice as clumsy throughout the day, occasionally dropping papers he had to deliver to different Squads and bumping into people because he was not watching where he was going. Although it was common for someone like Hanatarō to act the way he did every day, it had become increasingly worse in the recent days and even Captain Unohana seemed a little more worried than usual. In fact, it had been like that for the past few months or so, but it was not as bad as that day was. Today was so much worse than every other day in the past, and that was saying something even for him. People actually became worried about his constant mishaps - mainly his captain and Lieutenant Isane - but there was only one clear and unpredictable explanation that could cause the strange increase in clumsiness on Hanatarō's part. It was not his diet or a change in his mood or anything of the sort as one my expect. Instead, it was only one thing. That one thing happened to be a _girl_, a girl name Kitami Kobayashi.

A blush suddenly formed on the Seventh Seat's cheeks before he sat up on his bed at the thought of her name. Kitami Kobayashi was what had caused him to be so clumsy throughout his entire work day; it was never like that before, but when she came along everything went downhill. One simple girl caused such a ruckus in the past few months, and caused Hanatarō to act the way he did all day long. The simple thought of the auburn haired, green eyed girl made his heart skip a beat and lose his footing while walking in the span of five seconds. Her cream colored skin looked soft to the touch and made him forget where he was going only to bump into people or drop any papers he had in hand. Not only that, but she was only two inches shorter than he was, making her the shortest Soul Reaper he could think of at the time. Occasionally, he would spot her either on a rooftop or leaning against a railing in any Squad barracks when the sun hit her just right, making her hair shine and her eyes glitter like rippling waters against a setting sun. Her skin would become a shimmering pale color, giving her an almost angelic appearance, one that made him stop in his tracks and just stare at her for an undetermined amount of time. However, there was a problem with the angel that caused his days to be harder than they had to be, and it was something that was unbecoming of a girl like her:

She was cold, heartless, sadistic, and enjoyed picking on Hanatarō whenever she possibly could. In other words, she was a member of Squad Eleven and _hated_ every Squad Four member just as much as they did.

Sometimes, she would catch him staring at her on those days when the sun gave her that angelic glow and give him a cold glare with her glittering green eyes, wondering why he was there in the first place. That glare not only sent a shiver down his poor spine by the fact that he was mesmerized by her gaze, but it drew him closer to her in that instant. At times, she would outwardly ask what he was doing staring at her the way he did, oblivious to the fact that . At that point, he would begin stuttering profusely and try to explain he was just passing by and saw her. Instead of a simple "Okay," her glare would harden and she would tell him to go away, since he was being a "nuisance to society." After that, he complied and scurried off, but not before tripping on his own feet and planting his face into the ground. He would hear her laughing at his clumsiness, one that meant to be mean in every way possible, before he got to his feet and scurried off once more. The rest of the day would just go completely downhill from then until he entered the safe haven of his home. _It was a shame_, he once thought, _to know such a beautiful young girl like her could be so cruel_.

Hanatarō sighed before getting out of bed and walking over to his uniform. Since he could not sleep, he decided to take a little walk until he felt tired enough to go back to his room and rest for the next day in order to fully be ready to work without falling asleep on the job. After putting on his uniform and his scandals, he headed toward the front door and opened it. He chose not to bring his Zanpakutō, since he did not really need it, but chose to bring his medical pack just in case. He did not know why he wanted to bring his pack, but did not pay any mind to it. He would not be surprised if he ran into someone who did not particularly like him or Squad Four or even both. Might as well be safe than sorry, he thought as he shut the door behind him and began his walk around the Soul Society, praying sleep would eventually begin to take over and force him to go to sleep. As he began his walk, his mind went to Kitami as much as he did not want to think about her at the moment.

He wondered how he happened to find a woman as cruel and cold as she and fall in love with her. She constantly made fun of him and picked on him for being in such a weak Squad, and yet he still found himself fawning over her like a lost puppy. He thought it was impossible to happen, even to him, and it was quite a surprise to him when he finally realized he had fallen in love with her. However, he knew his love was unrequited due to Kitami's constant bashing of him. At times, she questioned his existence as well as the rest of Squad Four, claiming they were all just "one big waste of space" and "deserved to be wiped out by an army of Hollows." As hurtful as it sounded, he still found himself being drawn to her every day, despite the fact she disliked him the most out of every other Squad Four member. She claimed he was the most clumsiest and would "die faster than any Soul Reaper in existence." She questioned why he ever became a Soul Reaper because he never carried around his weapon in case of a Hollow attack. When he told her his weapon could only heal, she laughed at him and told him to quit, since there was no use in having a "useless trash" in the Soul Society. He sighed and stared at his moving feet. It was a shame he fell in love with her, because he knew she would never return the feelings he had for her.

Suddenly, the sound of howling filled the air, stopping Hanatarō in his tracks. His eyes widened in fear as a strong spiritual pressure overcame him. A Hollow was nearby, and a strong one at that. But why would a Hollow attack in the middle of the night? He was not entirely sure, and since he was out in the open without a weapon, he was doomed. Then, he felt more spiritual energy appear, but this one felt familiar to him. Although it was suppressed, he could feel who exactly it was. He gasped in shock: it was Kitami's spiritual energy! She was just about ready to take on the Hollow. Within seconds, Hanatarō was sprinting his way into the direction of the Hollow, completely forgetting about leaving his weapon behind. All his mind could concentrate on was Kitami. She needed help, and if she were injured, he would be there to help him. Even though she hated every fiber of his being, he did not care. He did not want to lose her, or even allow her to be injured. He wanted to make sure she would be all right, and if the time arose, he would help her. He did not care if she was part of a Squad that hated his squad mates, he chose to help her in her time of need.

After what felt like an hour due to his inability to use Flash Step as well as other Soul Reapers, he finally arrived at the destination in which the Hollow had appeared. Much to his surprise, he ran all the way up to the Squad Eleven barracks. He did not even realize how much he ran, but chose not to ponder on the thought. Instead, he continued to follow the spirit energy in the hope of finding both the Hollow and Kitami before things got out of hand and she got hurt. He prayed he arrived in time, hoping the Hollow did not hurt Kitami before he could arrive. Before he could ponder the thought anymore, a loud explosion sounded behind him, almost as if something, or someone, had crash-landed into it. Turning on his heel, he saw a crater in the building he just passed. Before he could move in to examine what had happened, a black figure appeared from the smoke and dust. He could not recognize who it was at first, but soon the smoke began to clear. His eyes widened as he stared at familiar auburn hair and forest green eyes filled with anger.

"Kitami!" He exclaimed, grabbing her attention immediately.

She looked over at him while gripping her Zanpakutō tightly in her hands. In that moment, Hanatarō saw the injuries she had sustained. Blood dripped from her forehead and stained her cheeks, possibly from the crash landing moments ago. A few bruises and scratch marks marred her face, but were not enough to permanently taint the beauty he saw. Her clothes were slightly tattered and ripped, especially on her weapon-wielding arm. Blood, also, appeared on the hand holding her weapon, dripping to the ground like a faucet that was not turned off completely. She looked fine to anyone else of Squad Eleven, but to Hanatarō it crushed his innocent heart.

A glare immediately formed in her eyes as she laid eyes on him

"What do you think _you're_ doing here?!" She snapped angrily. "You're supposed to be in your barracks right now, not wandering the damn Seireitei! Why the Hell are you here?!" Although half surprised by her outburst, he tried to remain as calm as possible, but ultimately failed.

"W-well, I-I-I couldn't sleep, s-so I decided to go for a walk, a-and…and…" He trailed off, feeling embarrassed to go any further.

She groaned, annoyance gripping her voice.

"You're only going to get in the way, and if you do that, I won't hesitate to kill you either," she snapped, turning her attention back to the Hollow.

It roared again just before Kitami leapt toward her, her blade ready in hand. Hanatarō could only watch as the creature attempted to grab her, only for her to dodge and slice off the arm in one fluid motion. It cried out in pain before charging at her once again. Although at a distance, Hanatarō could spot the smirk appearing on Kitami's face as she leapt over it, readying her sword to finish it off. However, it suddenly disappeared from sight, shocking Kitami for a split moment. Before she could react, the lizard like creature appeared behind her and sank its teeth into her shoulder. She yelped in pain and surprise, before growling and hitting the creature in the head with her hilt. It may have been a minor tap, but the creature was stupid enough to release her, giving her the opportunity to counterattack. With one last motion, she turned around and sliced the creature right down the middle, watching as it dissolved into nothing. She smirked at her victory as she sheathed her blade.

"That should teach you," she hissed disgustedly, "not to mess with me, you ugly freak." Sighing mainly to herself, she slowly turned around, once again spotting the Seventh Seat, whose face was consumed with worry. She rolled her eyes as she landed onto the ground with grace. Unfortunately, due to the injury she sustained from the Hollow, she became lightheaded and fell to her knees. Within seconds, Hanatarō was already making his way over to her side.

"Kitami!" He shouted as she attempted to return to her feet. As he approached, he almost came face to face with her Zanpakutō that stood in the way of him and its wielder.

"Don't even _think_ about coming near me," she hissed, sending a glare in his direction. "I don't need _your _help."

"But you're badly injured," he said, keeping his place in order to keep himself alive. "I can't leave you here with injuries like that."

"I don't care! Go back to your barracks now!" She commanded. "I don't need help from a weak little Squad Four Soul Reaper who can't even fend for himself and just gets in the way of everything! You're nothing but a nuisance to the Soul Society and should have never been created in the first place!" Her eyes narrowed even more. "If I choose to die simply because I was injured by something as little as a Hollow like that, then so be it. I don't want you to get in the way of my decisions."

Hanatarō, suddenly, felt a burst of confidence as he straightened where he stood.

"But we're the reason most of the Squad Eleven members are still alive, including Captain Zaraki," he explained, "Without us, none of you be here. Instead, you'd all be…" He trailed off before looking at the ground. He sensed Kitami looking him over intently, but kept her weapon up.

"We'd all be dead, I know that. I'm not that stupid," she stated, her voice sounding normal, but still held the hatred she had toward him and his Squad, "but I would much rather be killed in action like a real Soul Reaper than to live on knowing I was injured by a low life Hollow like that disgusting creature." She paused. "So why don't you go back to your Squad and forget this night ever-"

"No," he interrupted her, his fists clenching tightly.

Her eyes widened by the tone of his voice, but narrowed a moment later.

"Excuse me?" She questioned. "Are you defying the orders of a higher ranked Soul Reaper, especially one that can kill you on the spot if she so chooses?"

He looked back at her, determination filling in his blue eyes.

"Yes, yes I am!" He spoke, making her stare at him with shock filling her eyes. "You may not like me or anyone else in Squad Four, but that doesn't mean we're all weak or we always get in the way of your battles! We're the ones keeping you and everyone else here around, and not leaving you out there to die! You may think that's honorable in your Squad, but it's not for me or anyone else! And besides," He looked at the ground, "I...I care about you too much to see you get hurt. I care too much to listen to you when you tell me to go away just because you don't like me."

She stared at him for a long moment, her Zanpakutō slowly lowering.

"You…you care about me…?" She asked in a low voice. He did not seem to register her words before he spoke.

"Y-yeah, I do. A lot," he said. "I've cared about you for the past several months, even though you hate me and push me around. Every time you laugh at me for tripping in the hallways or making a fool of myself, my heart just stops and I catch my breath. Then, the rest of my day just goes downhill from there. The reason why I couldn't sleep was because I was too busy thinking about you, Kitami. You may be cruel and heartless and hate everything about me and my Squad all because you're a member of the most powerful squad in the Soul Society, but…" He looked at her, "but it hasn't change how much I've been in love with you." Her jaw dropped slightly as he continued to rant, "T-that's right! I said it! I am in love with you, Kitami Kobayashi, and I have been for as long as I can remember! All those times you found me staring at you in the past and assuming I was stalking was because I was admiring your beauty from afar! Your laugh makes my whole day even better, even though you're busy laughing at my misery. Every time I see you and those green eyes of yours, it makes me twice as clumsy and I embarrass myself even more. Even though you've been cruel to me and hated me since the day you met, it hasn't changed my feelings for you for even a second. You can push me around all you want, I don't care!" He seemed to calm down as he slowly looked at the ground and at his feet. "But hasn't changed the fact…that you're just the girl I'm looking for…"

Silence enveloped the two as Hanatarō stared at his feet. After another moment, he realized everything he just said. In that instant, that split moment, he poured his heart out to the girl of his dreams. He told her how much he tolerated all the times she had tortured him all because he loved her. He did not care if she hated him. It did not matter to him. It only mattered if he saw her beautiful face in the middle of his day. But now, here he was, standing in front of Kitami after he just poured his heart and soul into the words he recently spoke. He immediately felt a blush form on his cheeks, making his face twice as hotter than normal. Now what was he going to do? Was he going to just stand there and wait for her response or walk away? If he waited for her to say something, what she say? Would she laugh at him for saying something like that to her? Would she just flat out reject him? But if walked away, would she go after him? Would she just forget what he told her and move on with life as if he did not say anything to her? Only two choices on his head, and yet he could decide which one he should choose. He closed his eyes and sighed, contemplating on what to do.

However, he did not have to decide at all.

"Hanatarō," came the familiar voice of Kitami. She sounded much closer to him than before, as if she were standing right in front of him. He reopened his eyes and looked up, only to find the familiar and beautiful green eyes of said female Soul Reaper.

"Y-yes, Kita-" He started, but was interrupted by her lips against his. For an instant, he thought his heart had collapsed in on itself and he stopped breathing. He just stood there, shocked by her sudden action, but overjoyed by the situation he placed in. Kitami Kobayashi, the girl of his dreams who hated his guts, was actually kissing him. Although it was a complete surprise to him, it felt right. Apparently, she thought the same thing as one of her arms, her uninjured one presumably, wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer to her. As a reaction, his arms slowly wrapped themselves around her waist as his eyes slowly began to close, pulling her closer to him. He still was unsure of what to do, and she seemed to sense that, so they simply stayed like that, holding one another and kissing.

After another moment or two, she slowly broke the kissing, opening her green eyes as she looked up at him. For the first time, Hanatarō opened his eyes to find her smiling. But it was no ordinary smile; it was a real, genuine smile. It was more beautiful than he ever imagined.

"That's good to know," she said, "because I love you, too."

His eyes widened at her words.

"R-really?" He asked, earning a nod from Kitami. "B-but what about all those times you were-"

"I was in a period when I did not want to be in love," she explained to him. "I thought finding love would only give the enemy an opportunity to use that person against me. But…" She grinned sheepishly. "I guess it doesn't matter anymore, huh, since I'm strong enough to protect the people I care about?"

He stared down at her, before smiling.

"I-I guess not," he muttered.

"I'm sorry for being so mean to you before," she said, placing her head against his chest.

"You'll have to take me to your room in order to heal me, you know."

"Yeah…" He responded absently, as if he were busy enjoying the moment.

"And I'll have to take off my clothes so you can heal me, you know that too, right?" She asked. At that point, Hanatarō blinked, returning to reality.

"Wait, what?" He asked, looking down at her.

She laughed, a laugh he dreamed of hearing every day.

"It's alright," she said, pulling away from him and kissing his cheek. "You don't have to look…" She smirked, "_if_ you don't want to."

He began blushing profusely as she took his head and pulled him along toward the Squad Four barracks. During that point, a smile formed on his face. _I guess she really is just the girl I'm looking for…_ He thought.


End file.
